This is a very inventive picture book about friendship and perseverance.
Picture book, fiction, friendship
Interest level: K-3; Reading level: 2.1
5 out of 5 stars
This book has a lot going for it, which I must admit I didn’t expect before I read it. I thought it looked like a silly read, and there are some moments with humor and fun plays on words, but it has a special and important message that it conveys as well.
Peanut Butter is new to town and just got a ball for his birthday. He starts searching for someone who will play with him. As he comes to each potential playmate, he recites a repetitive rhyme each time:
Hello, I’m new here, and I’d like to play
Maybe now, maybe later–or even all day
I’ll make you chuckle deep down in your belly
And we’ll go together like Peanut Butter and …
Each rhyme ends with Peanut Butter naming the new potential food-related friend. He encounters Hamburger, Cupcake, Egg, Meatball, French Fries, and Soup.
Children will love that they know who Peanut Butter’s special friend is supposed be, especially since it rhymes so well, but Peanut Butter almost gives up before his special someone is found. What makes the book even more wonderful is that while Peanut Butter and Jelly have a close relationship, they also make sure they include all the other friends in their fun.
Terry Border’s illustrations are also very unique and make the story even more special. The images are comprised of created objects that have been photographed. It is especially fun to look at closeups of images to come up with ideas of how they were constructed.
This would be a great book to read at the start of the school year as children are worrying about making friends in new classes or schools.
Connection: Terry Border and his family live in Indianapolis, Indiana. It’s always a good thing to support local authors.
Peanut Butter & Cupcake!
by Terry Border
Scholastic, 2014
ISBN 978-1-338-03820-0
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